Six grueling sets of tennis in the sun Saturday took their toll on McKay Novak.

Her mixed bag of shots took their toll on anyone who tried to keep the Centennial senior from a state title.

Playing her second three-set match of the day, Novak outlasted Palo Verde freshman Annie Walker, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in the Division I girls singles final at Bishop Gorman.

“I don’t think I hit the cleanest shots; I don’t think I hit the hardest shots,” said Novak, who barely had enough energy to walk off the court. “I just fought and did what I had to do to win, whether it was a lob to hit the seagulls flying overhead or a dirty slice that barely goes over the net, I fought. I knew that anything less than my best wasn’t going to cut it.”

Novak, who took third in the Sunset Region tournament last week, needed nearly 2½ hours to oust defending state champion Chelsea Crovetti of Gorman, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a semifinal, then had only about a 90-minute break before being back on court.

She rode the momentum of the semifinal win through the first set of the title match, then ran into trouble in the second set before building a 5-2 lead in the third set.

Walker held serve, then broke Novak to make it 5-4. Novak then broke back, converting her third championship point into the win.

Novak, who also won a team title with The Meadows in 2010, became the first Centennial girl to win a state singles title.

“It’s really cool to work really hard for something and look back and have no regrets,” Novak said. “I had a lot of, lot of fun today.”

Levitt led only 3-2 in the opening set before taking nine of the next 12 games to finish the match, capping a season that saw him win the Sunset Region singles title and help the Gaels to the state semifinals in team competition for the first time in 10 years.

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